The Megathread for All Things Hoosier!

[StateBoiler]

State Rep. Christy Stutzman (wife of the former 3rd District Representative federally) resigning from the House. This district is near Elkhart.

As the co-owner of a newly acquired business at the beginning of 2020, this year has been extremely difficult. We have lost key partners and staff and have been devastated by the mandatory restrictions put in place by the Governor and health departments. We have limped along and our team has found very creative and innovative ways to safely provide food and entertainment for the past 7 months, with no instances of Covid spread. The team at the historic Barns at Nappanee and I have taken on many more jobs and responsibilities than we ever imagined and have made many sacrifices to keep the doors open.

Now, with the recent round of new mandatory Covid-related restrictions issued by the Governor, with no input or approval from the members of the General Assembly, our businesses and family have been set back further and I will be required to devote even more attention to helping our business survive into next year. Due to the instability and difficult circumstances that the Governor’s ongoing, unilateral decisions have created for our business and family throughout this year, the way those restrictions and decisions have affected our business as we enter 2021 and the time commitment that serving in the legislature requires, I have been forced to make an extremely difficult decision.

It is with a heavy heart that I will be tendering my resignation from my position as State Representative in order to focus on our family and salvage our business and the jobs of those we employ. I know that I am not alone in my deep distress at being forced to make such a decision and I am thankful for the prayers of many friends as I have struggled with this decision.

This is not something I had ever thought I would have to do, and hoped would not happen, but with the added burden of trying to keep a business afloat while still fulfilling my role as a wife and mother, I have decided that my family and my employees must come first.

I will be officially stepping down as State Representative for District 49 as of December 14th, and will be making further public statements regarding my replacement and my plans for public service in the future. It has been a great honor to serve the incredible people of District 49 and I will always be thankful for the opportunity I was given to be a strong voice for Elkhart County. May God continue to bless and protect this wonderful community.

Christy Stutzman
State Representative
District 49

In Rob Kendall's weekly Statehouse Happenings podcast, Abdul Hakim-Shabazz who at the time spread the rumor of Stutzman's resignation (it was this past weekend) hears she might challenge Walorski in 2022.

State Rep. Curt Nisly had a resolution on Organization Day he filed to remove the Governor's emergency declaration. Imagine he was the 3rd individual that might be removed from the GOP caucus.  Other than the Organization Day measures this is the first thing submitted, so its number is HCR 2.

[StateBoiler]

Front page article from Howey today on Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and her 2024 aspirations. For a "this is just about everyone that could consider running", here's his list:

Suzanne Crouch would head up the earliest Howey Politics Indiana  Horse Race status as a leading contender, just about every Republican we’ve talked with expects an extensive field. At this nascent point, Crouch clearing the field as Mitch Daniels did in 2003 with quick exits by David McIntosh and Murray Clark (leaving just Eric Miller) isn’t likely to happen.
   
The potential 2024 field will likely find feelers from Attorney General-elect Todd Rokita, Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer, U.S. Reps. Trey Hollingsworth and Jim Banks, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, former state senator Jim Merritt, Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray, and, perhaps, even disgraced Attorney General Curtis Hill. If either U.S. Sen. Todd Young or Mike Braun decides to seek the office, the former could clear the field, the latter could self-fund as he did in the 2018 U.S. Senate primary. Hollingsworth is one of the richest members in Congress and could also self-fund.

Looks like the GOP will have a contested gubernatorial primary for the first time since 2004. I get the check mark bit of Crouch being a woman candidate for the GOP, but at the same time she's going to be Holcomb's legacy and who knows how that will look in 3 years' time when Republican voters never had a chance to vote against Holcomb in an internal party field. Either she is running or Hupfer is, not both. (Hupfer strikes me as a guy that would run for Senator or National Committeeman.) But I think for Crouch whose name ID is really not there she could easily be State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell who ran in a very large field 5th district primary and quite frankly got embarassed for a person that was elected statewide.

[StateBoiler]

I've been able to get straight ticket votes for more than 3/4ths of the counties. I'll list a best and worst 5 for the ones I have:

Total Votes

Holcomb

Best 5-Union 73.2%, Franklin 73.0%, Posey 72.9%, Dearborn 72.6%, Gibson 72.0%
Worst 5-Marion 39.0%, Monroe 39.4%, Lake 43.7%, St. Joseph 52.9%, Porter 53.2%

Myers

Best 5-Monroe 52.8%, Marion 52.1%, Lake 51.7%, St. Joseph 42.4%, Porter 38.6%
Worst 5-Decatur 12.7%, Daviess 12.9%, Martin 13.9%, Wells 14.0%, Franklin 14.3%

Rainwater

Best 5-Putnam 25.8%, Jay 23.1%, Martin 23.0%, Morgan 22.8%, Fulton 22.8%
Worst 5-Floyd 4.0%, Lake 4.6%, St. Joseph 4.7%, Vanderburgh 4.7%, Warrick 5.2%

Straight Ticket Voting, with the understanding this is only for 74 counties with some of the remaining 18 above:

Holcomb

Best 5-Daviess 90.9%, Franklin 89.0%, Rush 87.0%, Adams 86.5%, Decatur 86.5%, Owen 86.5%
Worst 5-Marion 33.5%, Lake 38.8%, Monroe 40.4%, St. Joseph 49.2%, Tippecanoe 53.0%

Myers

Best 5-Marion 65.9%, Lake 61.1%, Monroe 58.9%, St. Joseph 50.0%, Tippecanoe 45.5%
Worst 5-Daviess 9.0%, Franklin 10.9%, Rush 12.7%, Decatur 13.2%, Owen 13.2%

Rainwater

Best 5-Martin 2.0%, Fulton 1.9%, Gibson 1.7%, Wayne 1.6%, Posey 1.6%, Vigo 1.6%, Cass 1.6%

Ex-Straight Ticket Voting, again for the 74 counties:

Holcomb

Best 5-Posey 74.0%, Gibson 73.0%, Union 67.4%, Spencer 66.7%, Knox 65.4%
Worst 5-Monroe 38.6%, Morgan 43.7%, Owen 44.1%, Fulton 44.3%, Marion 46.9%

Myers

Best 5-Monroe 48.9%, Lake 38.3%, LaPorte 36.8%, Floyd 32.5%, Marion 32.2%
Worst 5-Carroll 11.8%, Martin 11.9%, Fountain 12.1%, Decatur 12.5%, Warren 12.5%

Rainwater

Best 5-Fulton 42.2%, Morgan 41.7%, Fountain 38.9%, Montgomery 36.4%, Henry 35.1%, Wabash 35.1%
Worst 5-Floyd 7.6%, Monroe 8.6%, Warrick 8.8%, Vanderburgh 9.4%, Clark 9.6%

I as of yet have not found published results including straight ticket voting for Blackford, Brown, Clinton, Crawford, Dearborn, Fayette, Jackson, Jasper, Jay, LaGrange, Lawrence, Ohio, Orange, Parke, Pike, Posey, Pulaski, Putnam, Scott, Shelby, Sullivan, and Switzerland counties. The largest county I don't have straight ticket voting results for is Dearborn with about 25,000 voters.

Monroe County (home of Indiana University) is the only county in the state Myers won not straight ticket voters, 49-39-12. Holcomb won Marion 47-32-21 and Lake 51-38-11.

Marion County votes for Myers were 152k straight ticket and 52k choice. For Holcomb, it was 77k straight ticket and 75k choice. (If you're a Marion County Democrat, that's great news for you.)

Holcomb won Morgan County (donut county on Indianapolis' southwest side) in non-straight ticket voters over Rainwater 8527 to 8134, or 44-42-15. Holcomb won Fulton County non-straight ticket voters over Rainwater 2101 to 1999, or 44-42-14. Morgan I know before this election had rapidly organized for the Libertarians and become a strong county affiliate. Henry County in east-central Indiana likewise.

Rainwater finished ahead of Myers in 33 counties. For non-straight ticket voters, there's an extra 17 at least I have data for where he did better than Myers and the voters actually voted for governor. Seems where Rainwater did worst was Ohio River Country.

The largest county as far as number of voters that Rainwater finished 2nd in was Hancock County with about 43,000 voters (60-20.1-19.9). Hancock is the donut county east of Marion. For removing ex-straight ticket voters, Rainwater finished ahead of Myers 48-28-24 in Hendricks County (donut county west of Marion), which was the 6th-largest county by votes. The two largest counties Marion and Lake went to Myers, so the largest county Holcomb won was Hamilton 61-30-9.

For the 11 largest counties that accounted for 52% of the state's voting population (in order: Marion, Lake, Hamilton, Allen, St. Joseph, Hendricks, Porter, Vanderburgh, Johnson, Elkhart, Tippecanoe):

Holcomb 798,949 51.2%
Myers 625,185 40.1%
Rainwater 135,491 8.7%

For the 81 counties that account for the remaining 48%.

Holcomb 907,696 62.1%
Myers 342,854 23.5%
Rainwater 210,046 14.4%

Straight Ticket voting, largest 11 counties accounting for 52% of electorate:

Holcomb 406,663 50.3%
Myers 398,438 49.3%
Rainwater 3,862 0.5%

Ex-straight ticket voting, largest 11 counties accounting for 52% of electorate:

Holcomb 392,286 52.3%
Myers 226,747 30.2%
Rainwater 131,629 17.5%

Percentage of total vote that was straight ticket (any party):

Top 5-St. Joseph 62.0%, Lake 59.0%, Marion 58.8%, Elkhart 57.0%, Steuben 55.4%
Bottom 5-Gibson 18.5%, Adams 20.8%, Dubois 24.7%, Spencer 27.3%, Vermillion 29.7%

Interestingly, the most straight ticket voting counties are the largest ones. 5 of the top 6 are in the 10 largest counties (the first 4 listed above plus Vanderburgh at 54.6%). Steuben County in the state's northeast corner is the oddball in the group. Others above 50% are Porter, Floyd, and Wayne counties. Of the largest counties, the one that had the smallest straight ticket voting was Hamilton at 38.0%.

Counties where Democrats had more straight ticket votes than Republicans: Marion, Lake, St. Joseph (barely), and Monroe.

Areas where the number of straight ticket votes alone this past election would get you closest to a majority, or "a Lizard can be the nominee, and would still win":

Steuben Republican 43.2%
Fountain Republican 40.6%
Warren Republican 39.4%
Elkhart Republican 39.1%
Marion Democrat 38.8%
Posey Republican 38.6%
Morgan Republican 37.9%
Franklin Republican 37.9%
Ripley Republican 37.8%

[StateBoiler]

Front page article from Howey today on Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and her 2024 aspirations. For a "this is just about everyone that could consider running", here's his list:

Suzanne Crouch would head up the earliest Howey Politics Indiana  Horse Race status as a leading contender, just about every Republican we’ve talked with expects an extensive field. At this nascent point, Crouch clearing the field as Mitch Daniels did in 2003 with quick exits by David McIntosh and Murray Clark (leaving just Eric Miller) isn’t likely to happen.
   
The potential 2024 field will likely find feelers from Attorney General-elect Todd Rokita, Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer, U.S. Reps. Trey Hollingsworth and Jim Banks, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, former state senator Jim Merritt, Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray, and, perhaps, even disgraced Attorney General Curtis Hill. If either U.S. Sen. Todd Young or Mike Braun decides to seek the office, the former could clear the field, the latter could self-fund as he did in the 2018 U.S. Senate primary. Hollingsworth is one of the richest members in Congress and could also self-fund.

Looks like the GOP will have a contested gubernatorial primary for the first time since 2004. I get the check mark bit of Crouch being a woman candidate for the GOP, but at the same time she's going to be Holcomb's legacy and who knows how that will look in 3 years' time when Republican voters never had a chance to vote against Holcomb in an internal party field. Either she is running or Hupfer is, not both. (Hupfer strikes me as a guy that would run for Senator or National Committeeman.) But I think for Crouch whose name ID is really not there she could easily be State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell who ran in a very large field 5th district primary and quite frankly got embarassed for a person that was elected statewide.

Abdul's Cheat Sheet centers on Crouch and Jim Banks. Also mentions Curtis Hill, Rokita, and Hupfer. (I can't see Crouch and Hupfer both running, and I can't see Hill and Banks both running.)

If Hogsett leaves for the Biden administration (three of his staff may be leaving soon to join), City-Council President Vop Osili likely to run for the vacancy to be Mayor of Indianapolis. Whoever it will be will have the better part of 3 years before having to face the voters.

[StateBoiler]

https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2020/11/19/op-ed-indiana-democrats-and-libertarians-outside-looking/3762889001/

Pete Seat post-election op-ed in the Indy Star discussing if the Libertarians can build before the Democrats can rebuild. The Libertarians want to be a major party but that also comes with a lot of work alongside it down at the local level where they presently have nothing (from my own experiences I can tell you there's about 20 counties in the state where presently there is no Libertarian chapter at some stage of organizing, with a lot of these becoming official February/March in the new year) and the Democrats need to rebuild, with potential state party chair Karlee Macer saying her plan would take 10 years.

[StateBoiler]

State politics journalist Abdul Hakim-Shabazz on Rob Kendall's Statehouse Happenings podcast at WIBC says either they'll have to do a special session later this year or will wait until the 2022 session to redraw districts due to the delay from the Census Bureau publishing numbers.

GOP delegation votes on the Electoral College certification:

Aye: Sen. Young, Sen. Braun, Spartz, Rep. Pence, Bucshon, Hollingsworth
Nay: Walorski, Banks, Baird

[StateBoiler]

Listening to last weekend's Statehouse Happenings podcast, there's 2 people vying for state party Democratic chair. State Sen. Karlee Macer who has stated she was running in the past but also Trish Whitcomb, daughter of former Gov. Whitcomb. Macer appears to have the backing of the labor wing and Whitcomb has the backing of the progressive wing. There's an issue with vice chair and who that will be because I guess Democrats require the top 2 to have a person of color. When you throw in the male/female thing that the Democrats and Republicans have for chair/vice chair, 2 white women running means you need a black/Hispanic/Asian (but really black) man to be vice chair. It was going to be Eddie Melton, but he has issues which rule him out. So there's an open question on who this will be.

[StateBoiler]

State Rep. Ethan Manning, who represents a district centered around Peru and Logansport, has introduced a bill to place the same requirements for every statewide candidate nominated by party convention instead of by primary to make the November general election ballot that the 2 main parties have for their candidates to make their primary ballot - 4500 signatures with 500 from each congressional district. The only state-recognized party that nominates by convention are the Libertarians. As Richard Winger states at Ballot Access News, this is nonsensical to have the Republicans' and Democrats' requirements to make their primary ballot apply to other parties to get on the general election ballot.

(State law is setup such that parties that garner more than 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race get access to a state primary, and parties that get between 2 and 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race do not have access to the state primary, but can nominate by Convention. Parties that receive less than 2% do not get automatic ballot access for the next 4 years.)

I'm officially a county party chair.

[Mike Thick]

State Rep. Ethan Manning, who represents a district centered around Peru, has introduced a bill to place the same requirements for every statewide candidate nominated by party convention instead of by primary to make the November general election ballot that the 2 main parties have for their candidates to make their primary ballot - 4500 signatures with 500 from each congressional district. The only state-recognized party that nominates by convention are the Libertarians. As Richard Winger states at Ballot Access News, this is nonsensical.

(State law is setup such that parties that garner more than 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race get access to a state primary, and parties that get between 2 and 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race do not have access to the state primary, but can nominate by Convention. Parties that receive less than 2% do not get automatic ballot access for the next 4 years.)

I'm officially a county party chair.

That's really crummy. I assume they're proposing this because Rainwater did so well?

[StateBoiler]

State Rep. Ethan Manning, who represents a district centered around Peru, has introduced a bill to place the same requirements for every statewide candidate nominated by party convention instead of by primary to make the November general election ballot that the 2 main parties have for their candidates to make their primary ballot - 4500 signatures with 500 from each congressional district. The only state-recognized party that nominates by convention are the Libertarians. As Richard Winger states at Ballot Access News, this is nonsensical.

(State law is setup such that parties that garner more than 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race get access to a state primary, and parties that get between 2 and 10% in the most recent Secretary of State race do not have access to the state primary, but can nominate by Convention. Parties that receive less than 2% do not get automatic ballot access for the next 4 years.)

I'm officially a county party chair.

That's really crummy. I assume they're proposing this because Rainwater did so well?

Yes.

Measure passed in Committee. Still needs to pass through both houses and get Holcomb's signature. If the Republicans are gung-ho consolidated about doing this, it'll pass. Question I feel though of priority considering everything else going on.

edit: I just watched the committee video. This measure applies for only statewide races with primaries - so Governor and Senator, but not President (because the Republican and Democratic nominees for president are appointed by Convention). It doesn't affect the state constitutional offices. It does not apply to minor parties or independents, they still have to get signatures equivalent to 2% of the past Secretary of State election vote.

The ranking Democratic member, Pierce of Bloomington, opened committee comments saying a person could be cynical and say this was due to the performance of the Libertarian Party in November. Manning responded "don't be so cynical". A member of the Indiana Green Party showed up and testified, him and one of the Democratic committee members threw it in the direction of "spoiler effect" and speaking in favor of ranked choice voting.

[StateBoiler]

Indiana Democratic Party leadership race has changed. Karlee Macer is out as of Wednesday morning. The aforementioned Trish Whitcomb is in, as is former Buttigieg campaign manager Mike Schmuhl.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Indiana Senate voted 29-19 on Monday to eliminate virtually all state regulations applying to wetlands. All 29 votes were from Republicans; 9 Republicans joined 10 Democrats in opposing the measure.

Wetlands would still be regulated by the federal government under the Clean Water Act, but that oversight would only apply to about 20% of the remaining wetlands because of how former President Donald Trump’s administration defined wetlands.

It’s possible that President Joe Biden’s administration could change the definition, but that has not happened yet.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and several environmental groups are opposed to the bill. But farmers and developers support the legislation and have argued that the state regulation has become an unnecessary burden.

According to IDEM, 85% of Indiana’s wetlands have already disappeared over the years and officials are concerned about losing protections for the remaining 15% because wetlands have several environmental benefits, such as preventing flooding by absorbing water, providing a habitat for wildlife and helping with water quality.

But Garten argues that IDEM is over-regulating what’s known as isolated wetlands, meaning they are surrounded by dry land instead of any waterway, and farmers and developers are being harmed.

“I have major concerns that our farmers are being singled out,” Garten said.

Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, said she thinks the legislation is just trying to help a handful of farmers and developers who have complained about IDEM’s mitigation requirements.

“I find myself saying, ‘Does that mean we get rid of the entire program?’” Tallian said.

Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, said she thinks IDEM’s regulatory practices need to be tweaked, but dissolving all oversight is not the solution.

[StateBoiler]

The terrible ballot access bill has stalled. It's not clear if this has been dropped or just they're trying to find a workaround first. Bill has gotten some public coverage. Rob Kendall has covered it a lot on his WIBC show and Abdul Hakim-Shabazz interviewed the sponsor Manning about it.

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Richard Winger

The Indiana House Elections & Apportionment Committee passed HB 1134 on a party-line vote on January 26. It imposes a petition requirement on the nominees of ballot-qualified parties that nominate by convention. If the bill passed, their statewide nominees for Governor and U.S. Senator would need 4,500 signatures, with 500 signatures from each U.S. House district, even though they were nominated by a ballot-qualified party. The only ballot-qualified party in Indiana that nominates by convention is the Libertarian Party.

However, Representative Curt Nisly (R-Milford) then proposed an amendment to the bill, providing that ballot-qualified parties that nominate by convention should be represented on the State Election Board, and all county election boards. Currently only parties that qualify for a primary have members on the election boards. This amendment exposes the hypocrisy of the bill’s sponsors, who claim they are only proposing petition requirements for convention nominees because they want all parties to be treated alike. The bill’s sponsors do not favor having Libertarians on the election boards, so they have not yet advanced their bill to the House floor.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Susan Bayh, wife of Evan Bayh, passed away last night from brain cancer, aged 61.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Former-Indiana-first-lady-Susan-Bayh-dies-at-61-15930182.php

[StateBoiler]

Connie Lawson announced yesterday she will step down as Secretary of State once Gov. Holcomb announces her successor.

She was a Mitch Daniels appointment back in March 2012 when Charlie White resigned. She would've been term-limited in 2022, but if she stays in office until April she'd be the longest-serving Secretary of State ever. The longest-serving Secretary of State was the very first one, Robert New, who served from November 1816 to December 1825.

The one Republican that had so far put his name out for running for the position in 2022 was Diego Morales. He finished 3rd in the open primary in 2018 for the 4th Congress seat that Jim Baird wound up winning, and had served in the Secretary of State office as Director of Intergovernmental Relations.


Also, Hupfer has been named General Counsel for the national Republican Party.

[StateBoiler]

Importantville's list of possible successors to Lawson:

State Rep. Holli Sullivan of the Evansville area
Brandon Clifton, Lawson's current Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary of State
Blair Milo, former Mayor of LaPorte, former Naval officer, the "Secretary for Career Connections and Talent", woman
Danny Lopez, Vice President of the Pacers, Cuban-American

Also lists Pete Seat of Bose Public Affairs Group and Morales.

If it's Sullivan, I imagine Holcomb waits until the Assembly goes sine die. But I do think he's going to go woman, which means Sullivan or Milo.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

Next Senator from Indiana is Nick Fuentes. Calling it now.

[StateBoiler]

Next Senator from Indiana is Nick Fuentes. Calling it now.

The party establishment post-Mourdock have pretty effectively killed all insurgent right types from getting on the statewide ballot, which has meant they've won every statewide election since 2012. Throw on top of it I think some Democratic-leaning voters have given up the ghost and make their voice heard in the Republican primary.

Yet to see any sign of anyone challenging Young in the Republican primary in 2022. Braun might be a single-termer, I feel Young's been a better Senator than Braun, but Braun's not up until the next presidential election.

[StateBoiler]

Listening to this past weekend's Statehouse Happenings, seems like Sullivan is the shoe-in for Secretary of State due to being a buddy of Suzanne Crouch's as well as bringing geographical diversity in the state executive being from Evansville.

Morales is a Pence acolyte, and neither of the 2 hosts though it likely he'd be picked for the appointment, although he's planning on running in 2022.

[StateBoiler]

Todd Young has announced he is running for reelection in 2022.

[StateBoiler]

County party leadership elections this past Saturday:

https://indypolitics.org/marion-county-gop-chooses-elsner-as-chairman/

https://howeypolitics.com/Content/Default/Lead-Story/Article/Elsener-wins-Marion-County-GOP-chair-Wruble-easily-staves-off-challenge-in-St-Joe-County-Shine-gets-8th-term-in-Allen/-3/346/26802

The new Marion County chair Joe Elsener is a Holcomb/Hupfer protege and won easily, getting 75% of the vote in a 3-way race.

Skimming results, St. Joseph County (South Bend, Mishawaka, and surrounding environs) Democrats went against the former Chair's endorsement in electing a Chair. Apparently, Democrats lost 2 of the 3 County Commissioner seats in the November election.

My former county of Allen (Fort Wayne and surrounding environs) the Republicans elected Steve Shine to an 8th term. I think a lot of Shine as far as being a political organizer. The person that served as county party chair before him, Orvas Beers, served for 32 years in the position. So from 1961 to 2024 if Shine serves the full term, the Allen County Republican Party will have 2 chairs. In contrast, the Allen County Democrats are probably on their 8th or so since 2000.

My current county of Whitley, I heard from a source there that the Republicans had to do a revote when it was determined one lady voting was not eligible to vote.

As far as determining state party leadership, this is the 1st step:

Saturday's party election quadrennial reorganizations will be followed up by the election of congressional district chairs on March 13, then by the state chair elections on March 20. Indiana Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer is seeking a second term, Saturday's party election quadrennial reorganizations will be followed up by the election of congressional district chairs on March 13, then by the state chair elections on March 20. Indiana Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer is seeking a second term, while Democrats Trish Whitcomb and Mike Schmuhl are seeking to replace the retiring John Zody. The party has not won a statewide election since 2012 and is at a historic low ebb, with Republicans controlling all five statewide constitutional offices, 71 mayoral seats, nine of 11 congressional seats while maintaining super majorities in the General Assembly and close to 90% of all county offices.

[StateBoiler]

Howey on Todd Young seeking a 2nd term in the Senate. Joe Donnelly quickly announced he would not challenge.

With Donnelly not running, it’s unclear whether there is a credible Democratic challenger in the wings. For Hoosier Democrats, the bench is wafer thin. Currently, Haneefah Khaaliq, a political unknown who is executive director of the Gary Human Relations Commission, is the only Democrat seeking the nomination.

The party’s mayoral, congressional and General Assembly benches yield no obvious challengers. U.S. Reps. Andre Carson and Frank Mrvan have not expressed any interest in running statewide. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett hasn't won any of the statewide races he's run for the U.S. Senate and Attorney General. And the state’s most conspicuous Democratic rising star, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, is on a presidential track with no interest in serving in Congress.

Young may be facing what Sen. Lugar did in his 2006 reelection, which is a Libertarian opponent.

https://howeypolitics.com/Content/HPI-News/-HPI-News/Article/Atomic-Fight-over-Gov-s-power-Biden-s-empathy-truth-7B-in-relief-for-Hoosiers-IN-40th-in-life-expectancy/39/123/26850

The fight over gubernatorial power

Heavy hitters of the Holcomb administration - Health Commissioner Kristina Box, National Guard Adjutant General Dale Lyles, Homeland Security Director Steve Cox, FSSA Commissioner Jennifer Sullivan, Local Government Finance Director Wes Bennett, and Public Access Counselor Luke Britt appeared before the Senate Rules Committee Thursday to push back on General Assembly efforts to pare back gubernatorial power during emergencies. Box defended Gov. Eric Holcomb's emergency orders which allowed her department to “quickly and directly” work with hospitals as the pandemic began unfolding a year ago. “Our ability to respond efficiently and effectively to this once-in-a-lifetime emergency has been tied to the governor’s executive orders,” Box said. “This was especially crucial in those first several months when we had to deal with issues as they arose and address them immediately.”

State Sen. Sue Glick: “I find it interesting that so many members of the administration find it threatening that legislators want a seat at the table. We are part of the Constitution, we are a branch of this government. For a year now, we’ve been very patient. But we’ve been simply ignored on many occasions. We have attempted to deal with the governor’s office ... and state government, and we have repeatedly, like our constituents, been stymied.” House Majority Leader Matt Lehman (the House bill author) on Holcomb's constitutional concerns: "The constitution will take care of itself." Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray: “There’s a difference of opinion on that constitutionality, frankly, and that may not be something that is able to be resolved. But we’re going to try and do something and obviously if we do, we are going to vet it and make sure that it feels constitutional to us.”

Lehman's point is interesting, in that a number of laws have passed into law, only to be found unconstitutional via the courts. Also worth noting: During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19, Gov. James P. Goodrich was hardly involved at all. Masking and public meeting mandates were made by local health officials. The emergency laws Gov. Holcomb used were initially forged following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and updated in 2010.

[gerritcole]

Dems are done statewide in IN for a long time

[StateBoiler]

Hot off the press:

https://indypolitics.org/whitcomb-withdraws-from-race-for-state-democratic-chair/

Trish Whitcomb is withdrawing from the race for State Democratic Chair.

Whitcomb is quitting the race due to the unexpected loss of her son.  She released the following statement today.

“It is with deep sorrow that I announce I am withdrawing my candidacy for State Democratic Party Chair. I experienced an unimaginable loss on Sunday when my son died unexpectedly. As any parent can imagine, there is no way I can continue my candidacy to become the next leader of the State Democratic Party, she stated.”  “I will continue to work with the party in the future to ensure we have strong candidates and campaigns in any capacity that I can.  I appreciate the opportunity to run and wish the next Chair all the best.”

Also withdrawing is Vice-Chair candidate Luke Bohm.

Whitcomb’s departure leaves Mike Schmuhl, the former campaign manager for Pete for America, and Democrat Tom Wallace who ran against State Senator Rod Bray last cycle in the race, as the only candidates in the race.

Whitcomb is the daughter of former Indiana Governor Edgar Whitcomb, who served as the state’s leader from 1969-1973.

She is also the former Executive Director of the Indiana Retired Teachers Association and was the former President of the Indiana Federation of Democratic Women.

Schmuhl should win in a snoozer now. I'd not heard of Wallace running until this article. Whitcomb was running in the progressive lane.

Interview with Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray on bill going through the legislature giving the legislature the ability to call a special session (right now only the Governor has that ability). The Governor's office opposes of course. https://indypolitics.org/statehouse-week-10-in-review-2/

[StateBoiler]

Sullivan appointed by Holcomb to be the new Secretary of State. Position up for election in November 2022, and the Republican choice to run in November decided at Convention in June or so next year.